Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Top 10 Florida Corporate Event Planning Tips

Planning a successful corporate event involves several important details. Here are 10 important corporate event planning tips.

10. Plan Your Budget
Budget is the key when planning a corporate event. You should create a financial plan for your event managers. Your plan should include costs such as supplies, printing, refreshments, and security. Every single detail is important when planning the budget for your event.

9. Find The Right Conference Venue
Choosing the right conference facility is essential for ensuring a successful conference. Make sure the size of the venue is more than adequate for the number of attendees. Check the venue before the day of the event so that you can avoid any potential and problematic surprises. You can also ask other event planners about their experiences at your chosen venue.

8. Ensure Proper Onsite Registration
Onsite registration and management at your conference should be planned in advance. Use an electronic system for the registration of attendees instead of a printed attendee list. This will ensure that the registration process goes much quicker and that records are kept accurately.

7. Use Appropriate Badges
Make sure to use printed badges and not stick-on, write-on badges. Print the badges in advance and use large type. Spell all names correctly and proof them twice.

6. Make Sure Your Attendees Are Comfortable
Make sure the needs and expectations of your attendees are not ignored. Restrooms should be close by. You should provide coffee if it's a morning event and enough water and/or refreshments for everyone.

5. Display An Agenda
Make sure there is an agenda available. Attendees will want to know what, where and when things are happening. Display the agenda by printing it and placing it on each chair or table at the convention center.

4. Invite Past Attendees Along With New Ones
When sending invitations, make sure to also send them to last year’s attendees in order to ensure that those same people return to your event.

3. Remind Your Attendees
Make sure an event reminder is sent via email, Twitter and/or Facebook. Reminders should be sent a week before the event.

2. Clean Up After The Event
When your conference is over, make sure you leave the conference hall clean. Make sure all relevant equipment has been sent back and pay all the necessary bills. You should check the convention facility thoroughly so that you can avoid the chance of forget anything. You may also want to send a thank-you letter to all your speakers and attendees after the event.

1. Test The Audio Visual Equipment
Make sure you find out if the speaker(s) will require any special audio or visual equipment. Create a thorough checklist of all necessary equipment so that you can avoid any surprises. Test the technical equipment hours before the event starts to ensure a successful corporate event.

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LEED Convention Centers

LEED® is an international green building certification system that was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). It is a third-party verification system that provides a unique tool to building owners and operators. LEED® measures not only how the building was originally designed and built according to appropriate environmental standards, but it also recognizes the building’s performance in different key areas.

Organizations participate in the LEED® initiative as a voluntary effort to protect the environment. Convention centers and most types of buildings are suitable for LEED® certification. Once the certification is granted, the building increases in value and is a candidate for several government benefits. The advantages are not only for the owners; the tenants also save money in low energy consumption and waste reductions.

Buildings achieve the certification after they are measured and rated using a point-based system. LEED® guides and encourages all the necessary actions in order to get the highest level of sustainability. There are seven key areas that are measured and scored according to the environmental impact they have:

1. Sustainable Sites: The building needs to have a low impact on the site that it is occupying. This category considers the degree of development of the land chosen, the impact on the ecosystem and waterways, erosion, pollution, construction-related contamination and transportation systems.

2. Water Efficiency: Water use reduction through smart technologies.

3. Energy & Atmosphere: Utilization of different strategies to reduce the energy consumption. From the efficient design and construction of energy saving systems to the use of clean technologies that provide power to the building.

4. Materials & Resources: Selection of sustainable products used in the construction. Strategies to reduce the waste and encourage the recycling.

5. Indoor Environmental Quality: Use of good indoor air quality, access to natural daylight and improved acoustics.

6. Innovation in Design: Use of innovate strategies and technologies in order to achieve results higher than the LEED® standard.

7. Regional Priority: According to the location of the project, there are different environmental priorities that need to be considered when designing, building and operating a new facility.

The LEED® Green Building Rating System for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance sets performance standards for certifying the operations and maintenance of existing commercial or industrial buildings of all sizes. The intent is to promote high-performance, healthful, durable, affordable, and environmentally sound practices in existing buildings. Under this rating system, LEED® has designed different distributions of the points awarded to each of the areas explained above. The first five areas sum up to 100 points and the last two areas provide extra points to a maximum of 110 points in total.

The certification is achieved through the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), in order to guarantee the quality of the LEED® certification process.

In our current global crises, going green is necessary and also quite profitable. LEED® certification provides the right framework for achieving the environmental sustainability of any building. If you have any questions about the Ft. Lauderdale LEED convention center, you can contact them for further details.

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